CerebralDebris

Well, we’re nearing holiday season, and like many other Americans, the holidays often serve to remind me that there’s a whole big world out there full of people less fortunate than myself. Each year I try to make some donations - the amount of which varies based on how I’m doing that year. It’s something nice I can do for some people who need it. Even twenty bucks, if that’s all I can swing, can make a substantial difference in someone’s life. It also feels better than giving money to the various panhandlers one constantly meets in New York (and I mean constantly), if only because I know that giving to panhandlers only encourages further panhandling, rather than doing anything to lift people out of their situation.

Anyway, my basic selection criteria is pretty simple - I want people who are legit, who will use the vast bulk of their donations on actual charity and not their own operating expenses, who are unafilliated with any type of religious organization, and who are actively working on causes I support. This year I donated to four charities, two of which I was already a fan of and two of which my fiancée keyed me in on. I’m listing them here in case anyone out there is looking for similar stuff. If you are, please go and help - these guys are doing good work.

Child’s Play - If you’re a gamer, chances are you already know about Child’s Play. Founded by the guys who write and draw Penny Arcade, they’ve raised well over two million dollars in cash, toys and games for sick kids who’re stuck in various childrens’ hospitals around the globe. As the older brother of two girls who’ve undergone more than a dozen surgeries between them (more on that in a minute), this is a cause that’s pretty near to my heart. It’s also a chance for gamers to show that they’re not all crazy, school-shooting weirdos. We’re just normal, good people who want to share our hobby with others and help brighten those kids’ time in the hospital. I love this charity and am glad to have the opportunity to support it.

The Smile Train - This relates to my sisters, mentioned above. Both were born in Korea with cleft lips and palates, and after my parents adopted each of them, they had to undergo several reconstructive surgeries to fix all kinds of things, not just the noticeable aspects but also things like sinus and dental problems that arise from being born with a cleft. The Smile Train brings this kind of surgery to kids who haven’t been lucky enough to be adopted into loving families (or who’ve been adopted by families don’t have good insurance or otherwise can’t afford the massive surgery bills). These guys do amazing work for an unbelievably small amount of money, and just a couple of donations from people can totally change a kid’s life. Awesome.

Amnesty International - This is a pretty well-known organization, obviously, but it’s become important to me lately. When you date, move in with, and eventually marry a French girl, you learn how America-centric your upbringing has been, even if you’re a fairly liberal east-coast guy who likes to think he’s world-aware. Amnesty International isn’t really interested in borders. They want to help people, all over the world, who are facing human rights issues. From Darfur to Guantanamo to many causes which have received far less attention, they’re helping a lot of people in a lot of ways.

PEN - Two birds with one stone! PEN supports authors of both fiction and non-fiction, AND they support freedom of speech, both in the US and abroad (where it’s not guaranteed by constitutional amendment). I am a huge, huge believer that all speech should be free, and obviously I support anything that encourages people to write, and write well.

So that’s the list … hopefully this post will inspire someone out there to donate to one or more of these organizations, or to one that they support! Donating to causes you believe in is awesome, and I encourage everyone to do it.

I’ll be back this week with more Voices, and probably some other stuff. :)

I’ve added more Voices to the Writing Section — the Interlude (page 29), and then all of part 4 (pages 30 to 40). Now that our three friends have gotten together, the question arises: what will they do?

Check it out!

My god, I hate the Christmas season from a video-gaming standpoint. This isn’t 1999, when I was single and my “social life” was going to Outback Steak House with a bunch of other GameSpy nerds before coming back to play video games for the next five hours. Uh … you know what? Frankly, I’m glad that doesn’t describe me anymore.

BUT … it does make it awfully difficult to keep up with games. I mean, I had to put aside The Witcher (which I didn’t even get to until they released a special updated edition) in order to make time for Fallout 3. Somewhere in there I also want to fit Dead Space, Gears of War 2, NBA 2K9’s association mode, Left 4 Dead, and the PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV whenever it comes out. Did I mention that I’m a 31 year old adult with a full-time job who’s getting married in three weeks. I’m just a little busy, here!

On the plus side, at least when we get into the gaming death zone in February and March, I’ll probably have things to play. I’ll be like “Yeah man, GTA IV is really great” and everyone else I know who games will be like “dude, what is this, last year?” and I’ll be like “screw you!” and they’ll be like “whatever, guy who works for a video game journalism company and can’t find time to game!”

And they’ll be right. But jeez … why can’t some of these games come out in the other eight months of the year?!

More Voices coming this week. Stay tuned.

I bet you thought I was kidding when I said I would post more Voices, didn’t you. DIDN’T YOU?!

Actually you probably didn’t. I haven’t really given people any reason not to believe me when I say I’m going to post stuff. So with that in mind, it’s probably no huge surprise that I’ve compiled and posted the third installment in Voices, the super-hero novella I first wrote and posted in 2004.

Sorry for the lengthy delay between Chapters 2 and 3. Getting married really makes for some busy times!

I’ve got not one, not two, but three new cocktail recipes for you guys. The first, Faux Cider, is so-named because it has no apple cider in it and yet is oddly reminiscent of a hard cider. Something about the combination of lillet, vermouth, cola and lemon gives it a fruity tang. It’s really nice to drink, and can be converted to a tall drink simply by adding more cola. The Lexington Limey, another bourbon-based cocktail, was invented on the spot at my Day-After-Halloween Party for a friend. She liked the combination of Pimm’s and Bourbon - British and Kentuckian - and decided the name should reflect that. The last, a gin cocktail, bears a lot of similarities to a Tom Collins, but a liberal dose of Pimm’s gives it an orangey, spicey, somewhat autumnal flavor. Thus: Tom’s Cousin. Enjoy!

Thanks to Annie in Beziers’ for the image!

Faux Cider

1oz Bourbon
1oz Lillet Blanc
1oz Dry Vermouth
.5oz Lemon Juice
2oz Cola (regular or diet)
1 dash Angosutra Bitters

Combine Ingredients in a rocks glass over ice. Stir well. If you like, add a little ground cinnamon and nutmeg to give it a mulled taste.

The Lexington Limey

2oz Bourbon
1oz Dry Vermouth
1oz Pimm’s
.33 oz Lemon Juice
.25 oz Simple Syrup
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Combine Ingredients in a rocks glass over ice. Stir well. Simple syrup can be replaced with eldeflower cordial, and both it and the lemon juice can be adjusted — more, and you get a “Bourbon Sour” kind of feel. Less, and you get a stiffer, slightly more bitter drink.

Tom’s Cousin

2oz Gin
2oz Pimm’s
.5oz Lemon Juice
.33oz Elderflower Cordial
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, shake well, strain into a chilled cocktail or martini glass. Garnish with a twist of orange.

First off, for full disclosure: I did not vote for Barack Obama. Nor did I vote for John McCain. Nor did I abstain from voting due to some kind of personal reason. I went out to PS 282 in Brooklyn, NY, and voted for Cynthia McKinney of the Green Party. While I am not a member of the Green Party and hold no particular alliance to them, I chose to vote for her because during my research, I found that her statements and voting record matched my beliefs a startling amount more than any of the other potential candidates.

I live in New York City, and therefor was under no illusions that my candidate had a chance. This is a very, very “blue” state, and Obama had it locked up basically the moment he beat Hillary Clinton during the primaries. Nonetheless, I felt compelled to vote by the issues, rather than getting swept up in Obama fever, which has certainly taken hold of much of Brooklyn.

Nothing against the esteemed senator — I share many beliefs with him, and happily celebrated his victory last night. I believe he is a good man, and I hope he will be a good president. If nothing else, I look forward to at least four years of not cringing every time my country’s leader speaks the word “nuclear” on television.

This post isn’t really about political beliefs, though. I’m frankly not very interested in politics most of the time, and I generally believe that there’s very little difference between the various faces that are presented to me to vote for every few years. I remain unconvinced that the American populace as a whole has any idea what’s “best” for it, or that there is in fact any real “best” that applies to such a large and diverse country. What’s best for me is not the same as what’s best for someone in rural Iowa. What I hope is that we can continue as a nation to reach compromises that are acceptable to as many people as possible.

What really makes me happy, and what makes me proud of my country for the first time in quite some time, is the concrete proof this election has brought that we are, as a nation, transcending our past. Less than fifty years after brutal race riots, anti-integration protests, and the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we have elected a black man president.

In the crowd at Chicago last night, the TV cameras found Jesse Jackson, a man who lived through those times, fought through those times, twice ran for president himself, and has watched as his country and his people - the American people - continue to pull themselves up, slowly but surely, to a better place. The Reverend was weeping openly, as were many of the people in the crowd, both black and white, as Obama took the stage to make his victory speech.

I found the sight quite moving. Here was a man who has worked his entire life for this moment, witnessing something of which he had dreamed for decades, something which he had no doubt many times wondered if he would ever see in his lifetime. We are nowhere near finished — there remain great wounds in this country that need healing, and I’m sure no one is more aware of that than Jackson himself — but to have come so far in fifty short years … what an amazing accomplishment this is.

There will be triumphs and disappointments during Barack Obama’s time as president, as there are for all elected officials. He will not singlehandedly lead us to salvation, nor is it likely he will preside over the destruction of our nation. History may judge him as a good president, or a bad one, or perhaps one of the many that have been deemed largely medicore. Time will tell.

But in the vote itself, we can find indisputable proof that The United States of America has grown as a nation and as a people, and perhaps find inspiration as well, and hope.

I’ll be posting more voices this week, and also more cocktails. Sorry for the delays — between having a huge push at work and preparing a wedding, I’ve been rather swamped.

Stay tuned. And if you’re American … go vote. :)

I’ve been toying with Campari lately. It’s an incredibly bitter Italian liqueur which can easily overwhelm a drink if you’re not very careful with it. I’ve found that rum and, especially, bourbon play very well with it though, and consequentially have two new and exciting cocktails for you to try. I’ve searched around the web and haven’t found any duplicates of these recipes, so either they’re original to me, or I’m … just bad at searching. Unsure, but I’ve given them appropriately goofy names anyway because hey, why not?

The Brooklyn Almond

I named this drink because it’s kind of like a Manhattan, but it’s got a unique charm that’s all its own. Like Brooklyn, it’s an eclectic mix of flavors that blend into a whole.

3oz Good Bourbon (I like Woodford Reserve a lot)
1oz Dry Vermouth
.5 oz Amaretto
.25 oz Campari

Like my Manhattans, I like this drink on the rocks … but it’s equally well served if you pour all of the ingredients into a shaker with ice, and strain it into a chilled martini glass (garnish with a brandied cherry or two if you so desire). At first sip, you’re hit by the strength of the bourbon, but then the vermouth smooths things out and transitions nicely to the almond notes from the amaretto. The Campari shows up at the end, giving a slightly bitter, dry finish. I really like this cocktail and make it for myself fairly often.

The Elder Pirate

This is a rum-based drink — thus the ‘pirate’ — but it gains herbal notes from several sources: campari, Lillet Blanc (a french fortified wine), and elderflower cordial, which takes the place of simple syrup. You could use an elderflower liqueur like St. Germain if you wanted to give it just a touch more kick.

3oz Golden Rum (I like 10 Cane)
1oz Lillet Blanc
.5oz Elderflower Cordial
.25 oz Campari

Again, I drink this one on ice, but you could also shake it and serve it in a chilled glass. I’d garnish it with a lime wedge, because rum loves lime. Seriously, it’s basically impossible to screw up a drink with rum and limes in it! But even without the lime wedge, this is a pretty solid cocktail.

If you try either of these drinks out, drop me a line and let me know what you think. Oh, and thanks to Zoom Zoom for the cocktail picture.

Wow … so uh, I didn’t forget this site existed, really. I’ve got some heavy deadlines going at at work right now, in addition to trying to plan my wedding, and taking care of sick cats, and helping my fiancee get through some work weirdness. Things are just busy, so the free blog had to take a back seat.

But Hopefully I’ve made up for it tonight! Pages six through eighteen of Voices have been posted to the Writing section. This is one of my favorite chapters in one of my favorite stories, so that’s like double the favorites … hope you enjoy them!

I’ll be back as soon as I’m able. Shouldn’t be more than a few days, this time.

So … in a previous life, I used to run a site called The Texture Studio (yep, it’s still there … thank you, GameSpy). The goal of the site was to release a ton of textures for free to the public, in the hopes of getting noticed by game companies. It worked, actually … I was getting quite a lot of attention, but not by the companies I loved. I had a good job, at the time, so I was willing to wait until an opportunity that really thrilled me came along. As it turned out, that was GameSpy, and my life headed in that direction. I’ve worked on a couple of games since (Unreal Tournament 2003 and 2004) and really enjoyed it, but it’s been a while since I had the time to make a lot of textures.

I figured since a lot of people hit this site by the search terms “cool website background” I might as well cater to that audience. Here, after the jump, you’ll find a couple of textures. Well, a couple of base textures, but seven total. I’ve saved them at 50% jpg, which is a bit low, but it still provides a reasonable quality, particularly for a background. Oh, and all of these textures tile seamlessly.

So uh … hope you find these useful. They’re totally free. Just right click, choose “save as” … and save wherever you’d like. If you want to credit me somewhere on the site, that’s awesome … but not necessary. If you use them in a website, let me know and I’ll link it here!

Continue reading »